DESCRIPTION: The end of 2016 is fast approaching – not that we’re complaining mind you. This week, after recapping some of the games we managed to play between the holiday rush, we briefly look back at how the CR has fared over the last year…and maybe drop a couple minor announcements about what lies in store for us next in 2017. After that we pull out the 2011 card game Seven Dragons for review. Because, well, dragons!

Production Note: Apologies on the audio quality for this episode – it appears to have recorded on the backup mic by mistake!

2016 site recap! The CR has seen a number of aspects to the site added or changed over the last year, and since it’s the end of the year and all, we figured now is as good a time as any to talk briefly about what those changes entailed, including:

New faces at the CR

A new review subset

The launch of our Patreon

A podcast collaboration

What the first few tasks may be for 2017

REVIEW – (42:00):

Seven Dragons is a 2011 color-matching card game by Looney Labs. In this simple game, players take turns drawing and playing cards to a sprawling communal tableau, with every card placed containing 1-4 panels of different colored dragons. The goal in the game is to create a series of seven connected dragon panels all of the same color, while, of course, trying to prevent your opponent from doing the same thing. The end result is a simple game that’s quick to play and even easier to teach, all while leaving a colorful dragon-laden mosaic on the table at the end each playthrough. That said, while it definitely works as a casual end of the night style game, it’s probably not going to be the most memorable game for many players as a result. Seven Dragons may not be flashy or complicated – it could easily be billed as a card-based color dominoes with some action cards thrown in- yet we argue that it still has merit in the right settings.

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The five primary dragons of Seven Dragons

This is a valid placement because the two Black dragons match on one side

Having two matching panels results in drawing a bonus card!

The player with the Red goal wins for having seven matching panels touching

The five possible Action cards in the game, and the poor Silver dragon stuck at their mercy

The whole family together. Yeah, there’s a couple layabouts, even in dragon clans…